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Original poster

Food prices skyrocketing again!

239 replies

cookingthebooks · 30/01/2025 06:20

DH disagrees, says it’s all stabilised out now and slowed down but he’s not actually done the shop in forever.

This month I’ve just been walking around the supermarket aghast. The price hikes that are going on, my favourite bar of ‘cheap’ dark chocolate has gone from 65p pre Christmas to £1.10!!! Fishcakes from £1.80 to £1.95 and the kids mini pizzas from 45p to 65p all pretty much overnight. There’s lots more and fruit/fresh food have all risen too. I’m really struggling to do the full week shop for our family of four for less than £150 a week now (everything included, pull ups, all work/school lunches, cleaning and toiletries)
Some weeks it’s closer to £170 and I’m very frugal I hate it!

tell me this isn’t just me?

OP posts:
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6
rainypane · 30/01/2025 08:03

RabbitsEatPancakes · 30/01/2025 06:57

We are still so lucky compared to most of the world with our prices. Aus, USA, Canada are 3 or 4 times what we pur groceries are- yes they earn more. But then look at Europe, eg Portugal, average salary is less than €1k and groceries there are easily double the cost of ours, even the fresh stuff they grow vs the stuff we ship in.

I think our stuff has been artificially cheap for decades and we've relied far too much on products from outside the country.

I have never seen cheaper food in Europe than in Portugal! Even with the shite exchange rate. Even northern Italy tourist spots are now cheap compared to London.
also shelf life on vegetable shorter, which makes online shopping hard, and the quality of vegetables has gone right down.

kirinm · 30/01/2025 08:03

Supermarkets and it seems almost everyone is taking advantage of the 'cost of living crisis' and increasing prices on things we have no option but to pay for.

Supermarkets are making huge profits as are utility companies.

Myblueclematis · 30/01/2025 08:03

Before Christmas I was buying small tins of Branston beans in Farmfoods for £1 for two tins. They are now 59p a tin. Waitrose charge 80p for the small tin!

I usually shop Aldi and Lidl and some items from the bigger supermarkets but even my small shop at Aldi this week was noticeably more expensive.

pinkroses79 · 30/01/2025 08:01

The minimum wage and N.I contributions are increasing so it was obviously going to be the result , amongst other factors.

BunnyLake · 30/01/2025 07:56

pinkwaffles · 30/01/2025 07:49

Well more than half the country voted for Brexit, knowing this would happen... I feel like we can't complain.

Those who voted Remain can though, so I do.

BunnyLake · 30/01/2025 07:54

Definitely going up. 500g butter is now nearly £5 in my local Co op (an expensive place to shop at the best of times).

EvangelicalAboutButteredToast · 30/01/2025 07:51

It’s a constant creep upwards isn’t it. I go shopping and there’s so much I don’t buy. Granted it probably helps that I don’t eat much anymore due to the injection but I still have to buy for my family and lots of things have more than doubled in price since Covid.

pinkwaffles · 30/01/2025 07:50

shockeditellyou · 30/01/2025 07:23

The supermarkets in the UK are some of the most competitive businesses in the world, and operate on razor thin margins. Their profit margins are very small (IIRC 3%), which would be intolerable in many other businesses.

Ultra competitive supermarkets is one reason our food prices are really quite cheap compared to most of the EU.

Show quote history

Our food prices aren't cheap compared to the rest of the EU.
They were, pre-Brexit, but the margins are narrowing. Now we get poorer quality and pay more.

TheNuthatch · 30/01/2025 07:49

Yes it has gone up. I shop online and add my favourites list to the basket before adding other items. My shop is around £30 more per week since Xmas.
The employee NI increase in the budget will cost Tesco alone an extra £250 million per year. Of course they will increase their prices to compensate. All businesses will do the same.

RandomButtons · 30/01/2025 07:49

HoraceCope · 30/01/2025 06:41

and tesco have just rid of many staff, as have sainsbury's, presumably in order to keep food prices lower

No they’ve done it to increase profits.

pinkwaffles · 30/01/2025 07:49

Well more than half the country voted for Brexit, knowing this would happen... I feel like we can't complain.

Itsalwaysfools · 30/01/2025 07:48

KeepinOn · 30/01/2025 07:02

Anything with eggs in, as well as eggs themselves, is going to go up in price; a huge egg farm has had to cull 1.5m birds due to avian flu in recent days. Also egg shortages, so brace yourself for that.

Eggs on Ocado went up from £1.30 to £1.45 this week.

Yogaandchocolate · 30/01/2025 07:47

Kulwinder54 · 30/01/2025 07:36

A Freddo is now 45p at Sainsburys!

Freddo prices are the key marker of inflation!

Glitterybee · 30/01/2025 07:43

RabbitsEatPancakes · 30/01/2025 06:57

We are still so lucky compared to most of the world with our prices. Aus, USA, Canada are 3 or 4 times what we pur groceries are- yes they earn more. But then look at Europe, eg Portugal, average salary is less than €1k and groceries there are easily double the cost of ours, even the fresh stuff they grow vs the stuff we ship in.

I think our stuff has been artificially cheap for decades and we've relied far too much on products from outside the country.

Thats not my experience of grocery prices in Portugal at all.

We done a villa for 4 weeks in the summer last year and couldn’t believe how cheap the food was. We got sirloin steak for €1.99, chicken breasts for €1, baguettes for actual pennys, wine for €3.

I would be tempted to move there to be honest. I could do the groceries there for a fraction of what we pay here.

repeater · 30/01/2025 07:42

Sainsbury's own microwave rice was 45p last week, this week it's 65p!

Porcuporpoise · 30/01/2025 07:41

RabbitsEatPancakes · 30/01/2025 06:57

We are still so lucky compared to most of the world with our prices. Aus, USA, Canada are 3 or 4 times what we pur groceries are- yes they earn more. But then look at Europe, eg Portugal, average salary is less than €1k and groceries there are easily double the cost of ours, even the fresh stuff they grow vs the stuff we ship in.

I think our stuff has been artificially cheap for decades and we've relied far too much on products from outside the country.

I agree with this but it's a bit of a shock now now for sure.

ConcernedOfClapham · 30/01/2025 07:39

HoraceCope · 30/01/2025 06:41

and tesco have just rid of many staff, as have sainsbury's, presumably in order to keep food prices lower

Yes I’m sure shareholder’s dividends didn’t come into it.

GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 30/01/2025 07:39

I have to say hand on heart ours hasn’t gone up noticeably since Christmas.

I’ve always got a lot of own brand stuff, and two out of three of us don’t eat meat.

The stuff I get that’s branded is often stuff that has a function - like dishwasher tablets.

BourbonsAreOverated · 30/01/2025 07:37

JRSKSSBH · 30/01/2025 07:28

They have had to do it because of RR’s NI hike. Maybe inform yourself before spouting ideological nonsense.

Show quote history

conservatives put NI up to this level

they then cut it because of Liz truss budget. Lots of global economic groups said it should have been dropped but they did anyway.

RR is putting it back up

ThighsYouCantControl · 30/01/2025 07:37

GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 30/01/2025 07:32

I don’t understand how saying that supermarkets are after a profit is ideological nonsense?

Tbh I think alot of these price hikes are just profit grubbing from supermarkets.

Show quote history

That’s what I mean. They literally only care about profit. That’s all we hear about. Work us like dogs and cut hours (and staff) despite record profits year on year. When our wages went up (to about 50p) above the NMW we were told to “work like we deserve that hourly rate” by our area manager Hmm

Theunamedcat · 30/01/2025 07:37

shockeditellyou · 30/01/2025 07:23

The supermarkets in the UK are some of the most competitive businesses in the world, and operate on razor thin margins. Their profit margins are very small (IIRC 3%), which would be intolerable in many other businesses.

Ultra competitive supermarkets is one reason our food prices are really quite cheap compared to most of the EU.

Show quote history

So how do they make the big profits then

Fartypants83 · 30/01/2025 07:37

You can make your own fish cakes and mini pizza for less. I wouldn't buy ultra processed food really anyway. Lots of great deals from a but hers, fishmongers or greengrocers.

HoraceCope · 30/01/2025 07:36

supermarkets are not charities lets face it

Kulwinder54 · 30/01/2025 07:36

A Freddo is now 45p at Sainsburys!

Reetpetitenot · 30/01/2025 07:35

JRSKSSBH · 30/01/2025 07:28

They have had to do it because of RR’s NI hike. Maybe inform yourself before spouting ideological nonsense.

Show quote history

Because they want to keep their profits high. Most supermarket workers are entitled to top up benefits because of low wages/short hour contracts, so we're all subsidising Tesco.